Friday, 21st June 2013 | Rates fell across the board on Friday in the foreign exchange market as tighter liquidity took hold in the financial system. According to one source, liquidity tightened with the US dollar index bond issued by Bank of Jamaica on the market and the effect was felt in the local currency and the foreign exchange and stock markets as some big investors rearranged some aspects of their portfolio.
The average buying and selling rates for each currency fell except for the buying rate for the pound which increased by 38 cents to reach $154.91. The selling rate for the pound fell $1.27 to close at $156.04. The US dollar slipped marginally on both the buy and sell sides and the Canadian dollar fell 80 cents buying and $1.61 selling closing at an average of $95.60 buying and $97.39 selling.
The highest buying rate fell 5 cents for the US dollar and the lowest selling rate increased $16.35 cents to $98.60, the Canadian dollar dropped across the board 60 cents for the highest buy rate, $2.24 for the lowest buying rate and $2.59 for the highest selling rate to reach $100.50, and $2 for the lowest selling rate hitting $93 at the end of the day. The Pound lost $1.50 for the lowest selling rate and $4.98 for the highest selling rate and moved down 60 cents for the highest buying rate and $1.78 for the lowest buying rate.
The total amount of currency purchased was US$29.8 million (Thursday was US$25.15 million) and selling US$30.6 million (Thursday accounted for $26.78 million).
